HOME

St Mahé abbey

 

This abbey, located at the furthest occidental point of Brittany, in the commune of  Plougonvelin, held the relic of St Mathieu. In this respect, it was a very important pilgrimage site until the revolution.  It was then sold to the government and transformed into a stone quarry.  Today, the lighthouse that is there is partly constructed with rocks that came from this quarry, and only a few ruins remain of what had been once a very useful abbey.  As a matter of fact, because of its geographical location, fires were lit by monks to signal to ships the dangerous spots of the coast.  On the other hand, the abbey received a portion of the cargos from the ships that sunk within its perimeter.  One can therefore interstand how profitable it was for Ruggieri to get the revenues from this abbey.  It was in 1585 that he was assigned this abbey.  In 1607, he renewed his fidelity oath to Henry IV.  Ruggieri’s arms were affixed in the monastery, as was customary.  Since then, they were hammered away and his name removed from the list of abbots…

 

      

 

 St Mahé abbey, today

 


Plan of the St Mahé abbey, St Mathieu in breton (dialect of Brittany), before the revolution

HOME